Kuwait City: A blinding dust storm hit Kuwait on Tuesday, forcing the closure of the nation's three ports and disrupting air traffic, officials said.
Meteorologists expect the dusty weather to continue hitting Kuwait till the end of the current week.
Winds of speed up to 40 kilometres an hour caused the storm, the second in four days in the country, reducing visibility to below 300 metres at Kuwait airport.
Esam Al Zamel, head of operations at the Civil Aviation Authority, told the Kuna news agency that incoming planes were facing difficulty landing.
One private Iranian jet returned to Tehran and an Egyptian plane diverted to Dammam in Saudi Arabia.
Scheduled flights out of Kuwait were still taking off by early afternoon.
The meteorological department is forecasting the dust storm will continue until Friday.
Speaking to Gulf News, met official Adel Al Sa'adoun said such weather was due to the current distribution of high and low pressure areas along Arabian peninsula and northern regions.
Meteorologist Saled Al Ujairi said, "Northeasterly wind is to pick speed in upcoming days to range between 16km/h and 35km/h. Temperatures will range from a high of 20C and low of 7C along with accumulation of clouds till the end of February with limited chances of drizzling".
Majority of the Kuwaitis and expatriates stayed indoors yesterday due to the dust storm.
Kuwait has virtually had no rain this winter which makes desert sand loose and is easily carried away by strong winds. Dust storms are rare in winter but common during summer when the temperature reaches 50C.
- With additional inputs from agencies
Laila Ali is a journalist based in Kuwait
